Elegies & Devotions

Thomas DeFreitas was born in Boston, was educated at the Boston Latin School, and attended the University of Massachusetts (in Boston and in Amherst) for two years. His poems appear in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Dappled Things, Ibbetson Street, Pensive, Plainsongs, and elsewhere.

In April 2018, Thomas’s poem “Chasing the Waves” was chosen by Arlington, Massachusetts Poet Laureate Cathie Desjardins to be part of the Talking Chair Project, an interactive poetry exhibit installed at the Robbins Library in Arlington. In the summer of 2019, “Detox” was chosen as an Award Poem by the editors of Plainsongs. In November 2024, “Grief” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by the editor of Autumn Sky Poetry Daily.

Thomas’s most recent full-length collection, Walking Between the Raindrops, appeared in February 2025 under the Kelsay Books imprint. His previous titles, all published by Kelsay, include Swift River Ballad (2023), Longfellow, Tell Me (2022), and Winter in Halifax (2021).

Thomas rejoices to be a member of St James’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since joining the parish in 2020, he has served as reader, hymnographer, presenter of a “living epistle,” cantor in a virtual service, deanery delegate, writer of poems for special liturgical observances, and on one occasion, preacher of the Sunday sermon.

His website:
thomasdefreitas.me

Paperback: 46 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (November 21, 2025)